Appliances having a cooktop can include one or more gaseous fuel burner assemblies for heating and cooking of food items. The burner assembly will ignite a gaseous fuel, such as propane or natural gas, to produce heat. A cooking utensil, such as a pot or pan containing, for example, a food item, is placed on the burner for heating. Different sizes and shapes can be provided for aesthetics and to accommodate different utensil sizes.
Conventionally, the flow of gas to each burner is controlled by a valve that can be manipulated by the user. With fuel flowing to the burner, an ignition system provides a spark that ignites the fuel. The valve can be adjusted to determine the level of gas flow to the burner and, therefore, the amount of heat output from the burner.
The ignition system is typically configured to automatically attempt to reignite the burner when a flame is no longer present. More specifically, upon the absence of flame, the igniter begins generating sparks and continues until the gaseous fuel is reignited. Such sparking usually generates a noise that can be perceived by the user.
When the valve is adjusted to set the burner at a low heat setting, the flame is subject to wafting, some of which is normally present in a low flame and some of which is created by local air currents. In either case, the absence of the flame, even if temporary and/or only partially around the body of the burner, automatically causes the ignition system to attempt a relighting of the burner even though the flame is not completely extinguished. Frequently, such attempted relighting is unnecessary because the flame will eventually fully restore itself around the body of the burner. The noise from the sparking during such attempted relighting can be a nuisance to the user—potentially causing dissatisfaction with the appliance and/or concern as to whether it is operating properly.
Accordingly, an ignition system that can automatically reignite a gas burner on the cooktop of an appliance while minimizing or eliminating nuisance sparking would be useful.